Automating outreach is a lifesaver, but also a potential snafu at times of crisis. Like you, my heart and head are heavy in the wake of yesterday’s bombings in Boston. Especially since I feel so helpless. I had a completely different post planned today, but wanted to respond a.s.a.p. MORE

Should you automate your tweeting? Mazarine Treyz, with The Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising and The Wild Woman’s Guide to Social Media. When my friend Amy Sample Ward told me to get on Twitter in 2007, I did so, reluctantly. MORE

No automated posting here! According to Facebook, 150 million of the 1 billion people that use the social network are connected to a cause or nonprofit. We know why people use Facebook – to connect with other people. MORE

Today were adding a valuable, new tool to The Agitator Toolbox. The Donor Commitment Feedback Widget for Nonprofits has been designed, tested and proven by the folks at our sister company DonorVoice and is being given to Agitator readers for: $30/month $0 (Free). That’s right. And how long will this price last? Forever. Hard to beat. How much time will it take? MORE

Citing JCA’s involvement with the Kaufman Center’s technology overhaul, Crain’s focused on the high stakes and challenges that nonprofits face as they try to automate and streamline their operations. In this week’s Crain’s New York Business, columnist Anne Fischer featured JCA in an article about nonprofits and their struggle to implement and maintain technology. MORE

If you have the technical ability, or know someone who does, automating this would be much simpler in the long run. I find it so easy to keep looking for the new thing, pressing toward the next deadline, looking for the next big "win," that I tend to forget routine maintenance systems. MORE

These days your organization can leverage technology to help you reach more people , cultivate relationships with them over time, build their desire using automated emails , and even motivate them to take action. MORE

Donor database software can help you run a campaign from start to finish, down to automating communications, like emails and online newsletters. Automate mailings to selected donors. Guest post by Gretchen Barry. Build it and they will come, right? Well, maybe. But chances are, no. MORE

” Some others chimed in that automation is a big help, citing tools like IFFT that have relieved their daily consumption-desires of content. Automation though is a dangerous line to cross–so I wouldn’t recommend doing it lightly. MORE

Where’s your automated series of welcome messages, in which to talk to me…Nancy Schwartz? Wow, what a disconnect. Let me tell you about it, so you can make sure your organization avoids this kind of blunder. MORE

GW: So they’ve got to automate the process. MT: And I think a lot of nonprofits are going to be looking at you and saying, wow, you know, like I never knew that I could get all this data and figure out who really does care, and how to like automate that process. MORE

That way it gets scored and sorted for future automated marketing using highly segmented, highly relevant, highly personalized messages. Recently I was interviewed by a woman named Mazarine at Wild Woman Fundraising ! You can hear the interview here. MORE

While some automation is allowed, make sure to actively staff the account! Sending automated, scheduled tweets without having anyone to respond will not increase your followers, authority or relevance on Twitter – savvy Twitterers can spot a fully automated account a mile away. MORE

They provide a fully automated peer-to-peer website where parents and kids can plug in videos and photos. The other day I stumbled across a company that raises big bucks in peer-to-peer fundraising for elementary schools in the US. You’ll find it at Boosterthon.com and their proposition is simple. The result is an easy-as-pie fundraising campaign for their school. Check out one of their pre-programmed, easily adaptable videos here. MORE

Google Alerts –> To automate my repeat searches . We all know “googling” things in 2013 is ubiquitous. Once you throw in Bing, Yahoo, and the multitude of niche search engines you get roughly 92% of the world’s on-line population of 2.3 MORE

Automating outreach is a lifesaver, but also a potential snafu at times of crisis. Like you, my heart and head are heavy in the wake of Friday’s tragedy in Newtown, CT. Especially since I feel so helpless. My gut is that’s how many of your supporters and prospects are feeling as well, and what will be top of mind for at least a few more days. So be responsive , even though you’re pressured by the year-end push for support. MORE

I recently sat down with the good folks at The Campaign Workshop and chatted about marketing automation for nonprofits. The Campaign Workshop: "Why should I care about nonprofit marketing automation?". TCW: "What's a common mistake nonprofits make with marketing automation?". MORE

Look for ways to “batch and automate your routine chores: Block out a few minutes twice a day to tackle your Inbox, for example, rather than jumping to respond to every incoming email. Welcome to our newest guest blogger, Rebecca Leaman. MORE

And the list goes on and on… Then, once the donors have segmented themselves, you can employ an automated cultivation system that will send highly relevant emails that have been pre-written but personalized for each donor segment. They’ll talk about it at conferences. MORE

Read the whole guide here , and remember their advice: A welcome series is a sequence of 2-3 simple, personal email messages (a plus if you’re able to automate them!) When someone signs up to receive emails from you, what’s the first thing you send? Do you just add them to your e-newsletter distribution? Or do you actually welcome them? Don’t neglect the most important emails - the first ones you send! MORE

You need to send these people cultivation marketing: that is relevant and personalized (I recommend automated drip email and direct mail marketing to save yourself time). Both the automated drip emails and the campaign-oriented outbound campaigns should emphasize the Fantastic Four. MORE

The feedback loop is deployed in our donor survey, micro-site and automated “drip” email platforms. Mechanized automation is the most effective and efficient way to provide proper cultivation that builds trust and earns respect. MORE

ATM means automated teller machine, so don’t say ATM machine. Last week, we talked about those wordy phrases you need to trim (and what to use instead). For example, just say “enough” instead of “a sufficient amount of.” MORE

We often have an automated email after someone makes an online gift. I''d opened it thinking it was simply an automated boring email. This week, review your automated receipt/gift acknowledgement systems. MORE

One of its underused developments, though, is the ability to automate and monitor specific terms or events or institutions on the internet for you. Searching on Google is perhaps the single experience of the internet we all share. MORE

In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I chat with John Ludlow , Chief Strategy Officer for Snoball.com about automated giving. We learn more about the Snoball platform, pontificate about why embedded giving is the wave of the future, dismiss claims of slacktivism, and speculate about ways that automated giving can become a cause marketer’s dream. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]. MORE

Automated processing is great, but it has to be smart and segmented enough to feel somewhat personal. Standard automated processing exists in every fundraising application in the marketplace. The following is a true story. In the fall of 2010, I made a gift in memory of a friend’s mother. My friend and her family requested gifts to one of two charities in lieu of flowers. I picked one and went to the organization’s website to make my gift. MORE

By inviting relevant staff to each appointment we could get it to show up on their personal calendar and also create automated prompts (appointment reminders) keeping them engaged. You know how I feel about editorial calendars. MORE

In 2009 and 2010, only about 1/3 of the organizations acknowledged the online gift with more than an automated email, and just a few started any real kind of conversation with me with newsletters or additional email communications. MORE

I had to do this by hand since I was going backward in time, but in the future, I can automate this tagging. Let’s talk about email engagement. Right now, I bet most of you are looking at your open rates and click-through rates, and maybe your click-to-open ratio. MORE

A blogging calendar that you can use to automate your posting. An automation plan for your social networks, so you only spend 15 minutes a day building your reputation. Move on up! And give yourself a leg up the career ladder! MORE

Bot: A piece of software that is designed and created to automate the kinds of tasks we would usually do on our own such as making a reservation, adding an event to your calendar, opening a program or displaying a summary report (e.g. MORE

Will they receive an automated email from us thanking them and providing them a receipt for tax purposes? Elizabeth Brigham. Today’s guest post reminds us not to forget about our websites in the age of social media. Kristina. Guest Post by Elizabeth Brigham. MORE

I recently sat down with the good folks at The Campaign Workshop and chatted about marketing automation for nonprofits. The Campaign Workshop: "Why should I care about nonprofit marketing automation?". TCW: "What's a common mistake nonprofits make with marketing automation?".

Today were adding a valuable, new tool to The Agitator Toolbox. The Donor Commitment Feedback Widget for Nonprofits has been designed, tested and proven by the folks at our sister company DonorVoice and is being given to Agitator readers for: $30/month $0 (Free). That’s right. And how long will this price last? Forever. Hard to beat. How much time will it take?

While some automation is allowed, make sure to actively staff the account! Sending automated, scheduled tweets without having anyone to respond will not increase your followers, authority or relevance on Twitter – savvy Twitterers can spot a fully automated account a mile away.

GW: So they’ve got to automate the process. MT: And I think a lot of nonprofits are going to be looking at you and saying, wow, you know, like I never knew that I could get all this data and figure out who really does care, and how to like automate that process.

One of its underused developments, though, is the ability to automate and monitor specific terms or events or institutions on the internet for you. Searching on Google is perhaps the single experience of the internet we all share.

Should you automate your tweeting? Mazarine Treyz, with The Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising and The Wild Woman’s Guide to Social Media. When my friend Amy Sample Ward told me to get on Twitter in 2007, I did so, reluctantly.

In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I chat with John Ludlow , Chief Strategy Officer for Snoball.com about automated giving. We learn more about the Snoball platform, pontificate about why embedded giving is the wave of the future, dismiss claims of slacktivism, and speculate about ways that automated giving can become a cause marketer’s dream. [Audio clip: view full post to listen].

By inviting relevant staff to each appointment we could get it to show up on their personal calendar and also create automated prompts (appointment reminders) keeping them engaged. You know how I feel about editorial calendars.

ATM means automated teller machine, so don’t say ATM machine. Last week, we talked about those wordy phrases you need to trim (and what to use instead). For example, just say “enough” instead of “a sufficient amount of.”

Donor database software can help you run a campaign from start to finish, down to automating communications, like emails and online newsletters. Automate mailings to selected donors. Guest post by Gretchen Barry. Build it and they will come, right? Well, maybe. But chances are, no.

They provide a fully automated peer-to-peer website where parents and kids can plug in videos and photos. The other day I stumbled across a company that raises big bucks in peer-to-peer fundraising for elementary schools in the US. You’ll find it at Boosterthon.com and their proposition is simple. The result is an easy-as-pie fundraising campaign for their school. Check out one of their pre-programmed, easily adaptable videos here.

That way it gets scored and sorted for future automated marketing using highly segmented, highly relevant, highly personalized messages. Recently I was interviewed by a woman named Mazarine at Wild Woman Fundraising ! You can hear the interview here.

One of its underused developments, though, is the ability to automate and monitor specific terms or events or institutions on the internet for you. Searching on Google is perhaps the single experience of the internet we all share.

Should you automate your tweeting? Mazarine Treyz, with The Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising and The Wild Woman’s Guide to Social Media. When my friend Amy Sample Ward told me to get on Twitter in 2007, I did so, reluctantly.

In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I chat with John Ludlow , Chief Strategy Officer for Snoball.com about automated giving. We learn more about the Snoball platform, pontificate about why embedded giving is the wave of the future, dismiss claims of slacktivism, and speculate about ways that automated giving can become a cause marketer’s dream. [Audio clip: view full post to listen].

These days your organization can leverage technology to help you reach more people , cultivate relationships with them over time, build their desire using automated emails , and even motivate them to take action.

” Some others chimed in that automation is a big help, citing tools like IFFT that have relieved their daily consumption-desires of content. Automation though is a dangerous line to cross–so I wouldn’t recommend doing it lightly.

I had to do this by hand since I was going backward in time, but in the future, I can automate this tagging. Let’s talk about email engagement. Right now, I bet most of you are looking at your open rates and click-through rates, and maybe your click-to-open ratio.

Google Alerts –> To automate my repeat searches . We all know “googling” things in 2013 is ubiquitous. Once you throw in Bing, Yahoo, and the multitude of niche search engines you get roughly 92% of the world’s on-line population of 2.3

We often have an automated email after someone makes an online gift. I''d opened it thinking it was simply an automated boring email. This week, review your automated receipt/gift acknowledgement systems.

Bot: A piece of software that is designed and created to automate the kinds of tasks we would usually do on our own such as making a reservation, adding an event to your calendar, opening a program or displaying a summary report (e.g.

Automating outreach is a lifesaver, but also a potential snafu at times of crisis. Like you, my heart and head are heavy in the wake of Friday’s tragedy in Newtown, CT. Especially since I feel so helpless. My gut is that’s how many of your supporters and prospects are feeling as well, and what will be top of mind for at least a few more days. So be responsive , even though you’re pressured by the year-end push for support.

And the list goes on and on… Then, once the donors have segmented themselves, you can employ an automated cultivation system that will send highly relevant emails that have been pre-written but personalized for each donor segment. They’ll talk about it at conferences.

You need to send these people cultivation marketing: that is relevant and personalized (I recommend automated drip email and direct mail marketing to save yourself time). Both the automated drip emails and the campaign-oriented outbound campaigns should emphasize the Fantastic Four.

In 2009 and 2010, only about 1/3 of the organizations acknowledged the online gift with more than an automated email, and just a few started any real kind of conversation with me with newsletters or additional email communications.

A blogging calendar that you can use to automate your posting. An automation plan for your social networks, so you only spend 15 minutes a day building your reputation. Move on up! And give yourself a leg up the career ladder!

Look for ways to “batch and automate your routine chores: Block out a few minutes twice a day to tackle your Inbox, for example, rather than jumping to respond to every incoming email. Welcome to our newest guest blogger, Rebecca Leaman.

Where’s your automated series of welcome messages, in which to talk to me…Nancy Schwartz? Wow, what a disconnect. Let me tell you about it, so you can make sure your organization avoids this kind of blunder.

Automating outreach is a lifesaver, but also a potential snafu at times of crisis. Like you, my heart and head are heavy in the wake of yesterday’s bombings in Boston. Especially since I feel so helpless. I had a completely different post planned today, but wanted to respond a.s.a.p.

Read the whole guide here , and remember their advice: A welcome series is a sequence of 2-3 simple, personal email messages (a plus if you’re able to automate them!) When someone signs up to receive emails from you, what’s the first thing you send? Do you just add them to your e-newsletter distribution? Or do you actually welcome them? Don’t neglect the most important emails - the first ones you send!

Citing JCA’s involvement with the Kaufman Center’s technology overhaul, Crain’s focused on the high stakes and challenges that nonprofits face as they try to automate and streamline their operations. In this week’s Crain’s New York Business, columnist Anne Fischer featured JCA in an article about nonprofits and their struggle to implement and maintain technology.

The feedback loop is deployed in our donor survey, micro-site and automated “drip” email platforms. Mechanized automation is the most effective and efficient way to provide proper cultivation that builds trust and earns respect.

If you have the technical ability, or know someone who does, automating this would be much simpler in the long run. I find it so easy to keep looking for the new thing, pressing toward the next deadline, looking for the next big "win," that I tend to forget routine maintenance systems.

Will they receive an automated email from us thanking them and providing them a receipt for tax purposes? Elizabeth Brigham. Today’s guest post reminds us not to forget about our websites in the age of social media. Kristina. Guest Post by Elizabeth Brigham.

Automated processing is great, but it has to be smart and segmented enough to feel somewhat personal. Standard automated processing exists in every fundraising application in the marketplace. The following is a true story. In the fall of 2010, I made a gift in memory of a friend’s mother. My friend and her family requested gifts to one of two charities in lieu of flowers. I picked one and went to the organization’s website to make my gift.

No automated posting here! According to Facebook, 150 million of the 1 billion people that use the social network are connected to a cause or nonprofit. We know why people use Facebook – to connect with other people.